Open a Kitchen Dropshipping Store for Fun and Profit

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The selling of kitchen gadgets and tools is a billion dollar industry. It is definitely one of the evergreen niches to get into if you want to sell products online.

Thankfully, the dropshipping model enables you to open up your own eCommerce store without all of the upfront costs associated with buying inventory.

I’ll explain how to get started with your own kitchen dropshipping store quickly and easily. There are only a few steps involved and it is extremely low-cost to start.

In 2017, U.S. retail sales of kitchen gadgets and tools amounted to approximately 1.2 billion U.S. dollars. – Statista.com

Why the Dropship Model?

What makes the dropship model so awesome is that you do not have to buy inventory upfront which saves you money on product and storage fees.

You can sell any number of products offered by your dropshipping suppliers. When a customer orders products from your store, you then order the product from your supplier and pass along your customer’s shipping information.

Your supplier ships the item to your customer for you. You keep the difference in price between what you charged for the item and what your supplier charged you.

Sourcing From AliExpress.com

The reason being that they offer millions of products at low prices, there are no registration fees or requirements to use them, and best of all, there are no limits on your profit margins.

Finding a Dropshipping Software Solution

When I decided to create a dropshipping store of my own, I wanted to find a software solution that would enable me to retain complete ownership of my store.

Since I was just learning about dropshipping, I was drawn to the Shopify platform as it was the most popular option at the time. In combination with the Oberlo app, it worked well.

However, I still wanted an alternative solution, particularly using WordPress so that I could have full ownership of my store. Although Shopify is easy to use, there were a few reasons why I moved away from the service.

A Couple of Reasons Why I Stopped Using Shopify

Store Ownership – As I mentioned above, I wanted to retain full ownership of my store. Meaning, I didn’t want to have to worry about my account being closed at any time for any reason. That is why I eventually chose to build my store using WordPress.

Below is a screen capture of part of Shopify’s terms of service:

Expenses – The fees for using Shopify can add up quickly. The basic monthly fee is $29 for Shopify and $29.90 for the Oberlo app (if you choose to upgrade.) If you need to install other apps for specific features (which you likely will), there may be other fees added.

Below is a screen capture of a Shopify store that was on sale. Notice the number of apps installed and the monthly total:

This may not be typical for most Shopify store owners but it demonstrates the possibility of fees adding up depending on the features you may want or need.

How to Build a Kitchen Dropshipping Store with AliDropship

I continued my search for dropshipping software that was compatible with WordPress. Fortunately, I came across the AliDropship Plugin. This plugin transforms any WordPress website into a full-featured AliExpress dropshipping business.

It is extremely easy to use and automates all of the major functions of an eCommerce store.

This plugin enables you to import an unlimited number of products and it automatically fulfills an unlimited number of orders. There are no recurring monthly software fees to use it.

First Step: Register a Domain Name and Get Web Hosting

One of the first steps for setting up your store is to obtain a domain name and web hosting for your website.

You can register your domain name with any domain registrar that you want. I use NameCheap but you can also register a domain with the hosting provider that you choose as well.

I host my store with SiteGround web hosting and have had no issues. The only thing I had to do was request that they install the ionCube loader (one of the requirements of the plugin) and they did so within minutes while I was on live chat with tech support:

Second Step: Install WordPress and the AliDropship Plugin

You can find one-click install in your web hosting CPanel. Inside of SiteGround, it will look like the below:

You then click on the WordPress icon and follow the prompts to install WordPress. It will be installed within minutes. If you get stuck, don’t hesitate to contact customer support. They are super helpful and fast.

The next step is to install the AliDropship plugin. It is really simple to install. Once you buy the plugin, you will receive your unique license key. You will need that key for the plugin to work on your website.

The video below will walk you step-by-step for how to install the plugin and store theme:

NOTE: If you prefer to have the AliDropship team set up your WordPress website and install the plugin for you, simply bundle in a year of web hosting with AliDropship and they will install everything for free!

Third Step: Import Products and Customize Store

Finally, you can then begin importing various kitchen tools and gadgets into your store and customizing the look and feel.

All of this is handled inside of your WordPress admin area. Please refer to the video above as it also explains how to begin importing products into your store.

Types of Kitchen Products You Can Import

There are TONS of kitchen gear that you can import into your store. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Kitchen tools (spiralizers, cooking utensils)

Kitchen gadgets (mincers, cutters, peelers)

Kitchen appliances (coffee makers, food processors)

Kitchen organizers

Dishware

One thing to keep in mind about sourcing products from AliExpress is that many of the suppliers are based in China.

However, that will not have an impact on your shipping times. Many products use ePacket shipping which is a faster shipping method from China to the U.S. AliDropship has written a detailed blog post about shipping times.

Besides that, you can also choose to use suppliers that are based in the U.S. as well. When performing your search, select “United States” from the “ship from” drop-down menu:

Wrapping Up

Using the AliDropship plugin for your kitchen dropshipping store is an ideal solution. It is low-cost and you get all of the necessary features you’ll need to manage your store.

Besides that, the plugin includes free lifelong updates and customer support. To recap:

Obtain a domain name and web hosting

Install WordPress and the AliDropship Plugin

Import products and customize your store

Of course, you will also need to complete other store set-up items such as a payment gateway. However, that is easy to do inside of your admin area.